School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China
China: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 11.21 years in 2010. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China, 1970–2010
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2010, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China stood at 11.21 years. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China peaked at 11.21 years in 2010 and was at its lowest, 6.45 years, in 1970.
That places China 117th out of 197 countries with data for 2010, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.45 years | — |
| 1971 | 6.8 years | +5.4% |
| 1972 | 7.19 years | +5.8% |
| 1973 | 7.81 years | +8.5% |
| 1974 | 7.86 years | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 8.01 years | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 8.33 years | +4.0% |
| 1977 | 8.69 years | +4.3% |
| 1978 | 8.77 years | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 8.46 years | -3.6% |
| 1980 | 8.08 years | -4.4% |
| 1981 | 7.9 years | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 7.53 years | -4.7% |
| 1983 | 7.36 years | -2.3% |
| 1984 | 7.36 years | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 7.7 years | +4.5% |
| 1986 | 8.03 years | +4.4% |
| 1987 | 8.2 years | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 8.39 years | +2.3% |
| 1989 | 8.46 years | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 8.48 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 8.53 years | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 8.63 years | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 8.67 years | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 8.63 years | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 8.73 years | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 8.84 years | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 8.85 years | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 9.35 years | +5.6% |
| 2006 | 10.36 years | +10.7% |
| 2007 | 10.67 years | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 10.93 years | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 11.1 years | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 11.21 years | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.84 years | 6.45 years | 8.77 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.9 years | 7.36 years | 8.46 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.67 years | 8.48 years | 8.85 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 10.48 years | 9.35 years | 11.1 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 11.21 years | 11.21 years | 11.21 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
- 114 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 11.36 years compare
- 115 Trinidad and Tobago 11.35 years compare
- 116 Belarus 11.28 years compare
- 118 Philippines 11.19 years compare
- 119 Malawi 11.18 years compare
- 120 British Virgin Islands 11.15 years compare
More education data for China
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 6.74 million (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in China was 11.21 years in 2010, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 11.21 years in 2010.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.45 years in 1970.
- How does China rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- China ranks 117th out of 197 countries with data for 2010.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.